Wheelchair motocross, better known as WCMX, is a sport that’s capturing hearts and screens across the globe—and not just for its jaw-dropping tricks. Imagine the thrill of BMX, but swap out the bikes for wheelchairs and you’ve got the essence of WCMX, a discipline described by double world champion Tomas Woods as “basically BMX in a wheelchair.” It’s a sport that’s as daring as it is inclusive, and its rise is nothing short of remarkable.
For the uninitiated, WCMX athletes perform stunts and tricks over a 90-second run, with three attempts to rack up the highest possible score. The format, reminiscent of skateboarding and BMX competitions, emphasizes creativity, technical skill, and the sheer guts it takes to launch a wheelchair off a ramp or grind a rail. It’s a scene that’s come a long way since its humble beginnings, and nowhere is that evolution more evident than in the story of Tomas Woods.
Woods, a 16-year-old from Preston, England, stumbled upon WCMX after seeing a video of the sport in America. “I saw a video of people doing it in America and thought it was super cool, so I emailed my local skatepark asking whether this was something I could try,” Woods told BBC Sport at Greystone Action Sports in Salford, the very place where he first tried the sport, worked part-time, and is now something of a local celebrity. “I came down in January 2020, and in October I was in my first competition. The rest is history.”
Since that first taste of competition, Woods has become a leading figure in the British WCMX scene. He shares tutorials and tips on Instagram, hoping to inspire the next generation of athletes. “The community is so vast—Australia, Brazil, all over Europe,” Woods explained. “Having that online is so important. I was riding here at Graystone and had no clue what I was doing. Me and my coach would watch YouTube clips then try and run it back. Now we post tutorials, giving back to the next generation.”
Woods isn’t alone in his online efforts. British athletes like Lily Rice and Ben Sleet have also built strong followings, posting videos of their travels, competitions, and signature tricks. But when it comes to global reach, no one in the WCMX world can match Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham. Often called the godfather of the sport, Fotheringham coined the term WCMX in 2000 and now boasts an Instagram following of 865,000. “I just threw those letters together—like BMX, but with a wheelchair,” he told BBC Sport. “Now I can log into Instagram and people are throwing in the craziest [stunts]. I don’t know if I imagined this, but it’s pretty cool to see the impact.”
WCMX’s popularity isn’t confined to the digital realm. The sport is set to make a triumphant return to Europe, as the World WCMX Championships head to Bulle, Switzerland, from September 12 to 14, 2025. It’s the first time the championships have been held in Europe since the inaugural event in Hamburg back in 2019. Fotheringham is especially excited about the Swiss venue: “Swiss WCMX riders are a totally different breed, so bringing it to them is pretty cool. It’s cool to see it bouncing around. There are different attitudes to the sport in different countries—it’s cool to see people with different takes.”
But with all this momentum, the big question looms: could WCMX make it to the Paralympics? The sport’s leaders are certainly pushing for it. World WCMX president Jo Woods has her sights set on Brisbane 2032, with hopes for a test event at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Talks are ongoing with World Skate, the organization behind Olympic skateboarding, in the hopes that its backing could boost WCMX’s Paralympic prospects.
However, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has made it clear that the road to inclusion is anything but straightforward. According to the IPC, “To be eligible for inclusion in the Paralympic Games sport programme, a sport must be governed by an International Federation that is either an IPC member organisation or an IPC Recognised Federation. WCMX is neither an IPC member International Federation or an IPC Recognised Federation and therefore is currently not eligible to apply for inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games.”
The hurdles don’t stop there. The IPC requires that any aspiring Paralympic sport must have at least 32 countries across three regions regularly practising the discipline, a recognized governing body capable of running competitions and qualifying events, compliance with the world anti-doping code, and a formal constitution and regulations. While countries like Germany, Switzerland, and the United States have robust WCMX organizations, others, including the United Kingdom, are still works in progress.
That hasn’t stopped the community from pushing forward. Jo Woods has worked tirelessly to create a unified rulebook, combining regulations from various national governing bodies. Meanwhile, double women’s world champion Lorraine Truong has produced the first classification schedule, a crucial step in ensuring fair competition among athletes with varying disabilities—a thorny but essential issue in Paralympic sport.
For many athletes, though, the challenges start much closer to home. Access to the sport remains uneven, especially in the UK. While some skateparks, like Graystone, offer WCMX chair rentals on dedicated nights, this is far from universal. And the specialized equipment doesn’t come cheap—a top-of-the-line WCMX chair can cost up to £16,000. Woods knows this struggle firsthand; his first chair was funded by his parents selling a car. “You can’t go to Halfords and buy a cheap wheelchair,” he notes. “Most skateparks will have a rental fleet of skateboards and BMX bikes—to have that for WCMX would be massive.”
Despite the obstacles, the dream of seeing WCMX on the world’s biggest stage is very much alive. Fotheringham, who wowed audiences at the Rio 2016 Paralympics opening ceremony by backflipping through a flaming hoop, is among its most vocal advocates. “Yeah for sure,” he says when asked if WCMX should be in the Paralympics. “I’ve heard little things here and there, so this is me personally asking [the IPC]. It draws a crowd, it is perfect for TikTok, the interest is there. To see it there would be unreal. It’s just one of the sickest sports out there.”
Looking ahead, Tomas Woods is aiming for a third consecutive world title in Switzerland this September. As the sport continues to grow, both online and on the ramps, its passionate community is determined to keep pushing boundaries—whether or not the Paralympic dream is realized anytime soon. For now, WCMX remains a thrilling testament to resilience, creativity, and the power of sport to bring people together from all corners of the globe.
